NOVEMBER 2022

Should We Boycott the 2022 Qatar World Cup?

Anthony Bilis-Gruson, Assistant Head of Graphic Design & Illustration

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is set to kick off on Sunday, November 20th, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The World Cup is one of the greatest events, not just for soccer fanatics like me, but for casual soccer fans as well, and even for fans of sports in general to be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy a whole month of soccer’s greatest players and moments. However, the 2022 World Cup is different. Hosted for the first time in a Muslim country, in the heart of the Arab world, set to begin right before Thanksgiving and end just before Christmas, this is a World Cup different from all others. With numerous controversies resulting from the selection of Qatar as the host country and some disturbing statistics and stories coming out as we approach the first game, a clear moral dilemma has emerged around this tournament. The question is: would it be best, from a moral standpoint, if we all just turned off our TVs and boycotted the event? 

The FIFA World Cup’s aim is supposedly to encourage a break from the strife of daily life, the tension between nations, and create a month of celebration, joy, and fusion between cultures around the “beautiful game.” While I don’t doubt that like all others, this Qatar World Cup will have many of those positives, I believe we must understand the full context of what this competition means for global soccer, and how it is intertwined with key moral issues that our society faces. 

The truth is, FIFA has been a corrupt organization for decades now, and if we really wanted to explore the moral issues around the World Cup, we would have to go back far further than Qatar. However, the nomination of Qatar to host this World Cup has created a huge uproar from the public, something not seen before at other major tournaments. This resistance from fans draws mainly from the clear ideological differences and moral issues that arise when awarding the world’s greatest tournament to a nation like Qatar. 

The validity of this World Cup has been in question since the first moment FIFA announced its nomination. Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, on the same day that another controversial nation, Russia, was awarded the 2018 World Cup. This joint award made more than a few people cringe, not only because two World Cups have never been awarded at the same time, but because of the history of the countries who won the nomination. A huge part of the World Cup is to continue the globalization of the sport and to spread the magic of the world’s game, and this is mainly done by awarding the competition to a variety of geographical locations. However, to award it to two countries at the same time is suspicious, to say the least, and begs the question of a quid pro quo and doubling dealing. Qatar and Russia are politically divisive countries, with authoritarian governments that we know have histories of corruption. Neither are known as soccer nations, so the decision to award it to these two specifically made it obvious that there were other motives than just to spread the love of the game. This was further backed up when 15 of the 22 FIFA executives who awarded the World Cup to Qatar went on to face criminal charges related to corruption and bribery. 

While the questions about FIFA’s corruption and the award of the World Cup of Qatar are completely valid and should continue to be discussed, the competition is set to kick off in a matter of twenty-four hours, as of this writing, so these discussions are pretty much useless when talking about 2022. The pressure put on players and coaches to stand up and speak out against the event is naive and unfair, as the time for push back was a decade ago, not as the tournament begins. The World Cup in Qatar will happen, and we are powerless to stop it, but does that mean we should not support our team, or even watch it? 

The consequences of awarding the World Cup to Qatar have been displayed all around the world. Wildly unprepared due to a lack of infrastructure, the country with a population smaller than the city of Berlin had to build stadiums, hotels, public transportation, roads, and more for the millions of fans that would be visiting. Forbes estimates this World Cup cost Qatar over 200 billion dollars, making it the most expensive tournament in history. Not only does the price raise an eye, the ecological disaster that ensued from building a World Cup in a desert is a major problem to say the least. The need to build massively and quickly resulted in the Qatari government hiring many migrant workers to build the necessary infrastructure. Throughout the building of this World Cup, there have been many concerns around the treatment and safety of the workers, but the Qatari government has been very firm in denials of abuse and has refused any media coverage or investigations into the matter, which is not suspicious at all. However, as the World Cup begins, many human rights organizations have released information about just how bad the treatment of workers really has been. The Guardian reports that there were zero human rights clauses concerning labor protections that FIFA requested of the Qatari authorities when they were awarded the competition in 2010. The workers reportedly worked 14-18 hour days, without paid overtime or enough food and water. The Guardian reports that 100,000 is the minimum number of workers who experienced exploitation and abuse during the construction in the past 12 years while setting up the World Cup. While the Qatari authorities claim just 3 workers died on the job, the real number is likely to never be known for certain. What is clear is that the number is much higher than 3, almost certainly ranging from 10,000 to 30,000. 200 Nepali workers died due to heat exhaustion according to a 2019 study in the journal Cardiology, and every day more deplorable statistics are revealed. 

Somehow, the deaths of the migrant workers aren’t the only moral issue to consider. There have also been many criticisms of the Qatari human rights record, and although outside pressure led to the implementation of a minimum wage in Qatar, people in the LGTBQ community are still criminalized, women are not given the same basic rights as men, and freedom of the press and of expression are restricted. Just this week, a Danish news broadcast was interrupted on air by Qatari officials unhappy with what they were saying. Denmark has been one of the nations most outspoken about the corruption and abuse allegations around the Qatar World Cup. The Qatari government has made it clear that anyone traveling and staying in Qatar will have to respect their culture and abide by their rules. People can face up to 5 years in prison for “leading, instigating, or seducing a male in any way to commit sodomy or dissipation” and “inducing or seducing a male in any way to commit illegal or immoral actions.” (The Guardian). 

While it is crucial to bring all these moral issues to the forefront and hold accountable the criminals that oversaw the migrant worker deaths and human rights violations, it is important to remember who the bad guys are. On the one hand, the entire country of Qatar and the region of the Middle East should not be represented by the corrupt governments that control them. The people of Qatar are passionate sports fans like you and I, who are proud and ecstatic to welcome the world to their home and share their love for the game of soccer with all. It is important not to place the blame on those who could not control the despicable actions made by those at FIFA and by their political leaders. On the other hand, it is important not to forget the truths that I have presented to you. Whenever you find yourself lost in the beauty of the moments the World Cup brings, remember the migrant workers who suffered and the LGBTQ activists who were not accepted in the celebration. This World Cup is a moral dilemma, and I don’t think there is a right decision regarding whether to watch it or not. We must inform ourselves, work to improve the lives of those suffering, and not turn a blind eye to the harsh realities behind the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.